Improvement in the manufacture of artificial stone



2 Sheets--Sheet1.

J. L. ROWLAND.

Manufacture of Artificial Stone.

Patented April 14,1874.

AM. Mam-1071001101110 Ca. 11/. (asaomrsmoans.)

2 Sheets--Shet'2.

1. L. ROWLAND. Manufacture of Artificial Stone.

Patented April 14,1874.

UNITED STATES JAMES L. ROWLAND,

TENT FFICO OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,682; dated April 14, 1874; application filed February 26, 1874.

' To all whom it may concern:

York, have invented a new and improved mode of treating cement, combined or not with other material or substances, in the manufacture of artificial stone; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reterence being bad to the accompanying drawing and the letters 'of reference thereon, constituting a part of this specification.

In the drawing, Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of the apparatus which is intended to illustrate the principle of operating the indurating-chamber with carbonic-acid gas in the process of manufacturing artificial stone by the action ofan acid on an alkaline base in solution, or in combination with water, in lieu of the mode of generating such gas by the burning of charcoal or other substances from which carbonic-acid gas may be set free by the action of fire- Fig. 2 is a top view of the indurating-chamber with the cover removed.

A is an indurating-chamber, in which blocks or articles made of cement, or cement properly combined with other suitable material or substances, as delivered from the molds, are placed,

such blocks or articles being arranged therein in any suitable manner preparatory to their treatment, whereby they are indurated, and converted into artificial stone. In dotted lines a door, I), is shown, opening into said chamber; and 1) indicates a covered opening in the top of the chamber, which opening is made available, when desired, to allow vapor or air to esprovided with a stop-cock, c Thischarger A terminates at its upper end in a screw-thread neck, e, through which is fitted a stop-cock,f. A is a smaller cylinder or vessel, made of copper, and of a capacity to hold eight or ten or more ounces of sulphuric acid, and has an elon-.

' gated neck, e, constructed either so as to screw This charger or water-carbonator A is' charged by supplying it with such proper quantities of sulphuric acid and soda dissolved in water as will evolve gas enough to give a pressure snfficient to force the solution or charge from the charger A through the pipe 61, when properly arranged therefor, into the boxes B, B and 13 large quantities of the sulphuric acid and soda dissolved in water being used when it is desired to speedily supply the chamber A with gas, and in large quantities. I

A medium charge for a charger of the dimensions given above is one or one and a halt pound of bicarbonate of soda, about seven and a half gallons of water, and six or seven ounces of sulphuric acid. This charge is supplied to the charger A as follows: Remove the cylinder A then put in the water, and afterward the soda. This being done, pour the sulphuric acid into the cylinder A and confine it therein by thestop-cock f, after which screw the cyl inder A onto the charger A as indicatedin Fig. 1, after which, the cooks f and f being opened, the acid will descend in regulated quantities, as desired, into the charger A, and therein mix with and act upon the soda in so lution, which solution may now, under the pressure of the gas evolved, be allowed to escape through the pipe cl by the stop-cock c, as desired, into the boxes B, B and E the supply to box B beiu g effected by the attachment of the tube d to the inlet-pipe ]L2 of box B, or the insertion of the nozzle (1 of the pipe (Z into the funnrl h of pipe h, which discharges into the box 13 The boxes 13 and B which are located the one within and the other without the induratingchamber A, as shown, are charged in two ways: First, by supplying them, through the covers g g, with proper quantities of sulphuric acid and soda dissolved in water, or with powdered marble and sulphuric or muriatic acid diluted with water; and, secondly, by charging them the same as the box B is charged, as above described.

. It will thus be seen that the indurating-chamher A may be operated by the carbonic-acid gas, whether generated directly in the boxes B or B or generated in the charger A and then ejected into the boxes B, B or B If the gas is generated in the boxes B or B it escapes into the chamber A through the upper uncovered side of the box B and the opening K of the box B, and in like manner escapes through the uncovered side of the box B into the chamber A when injected into said boxes from the charger A through the pipes h k leading thereto. Thus the induratingchamber A may be charged by gas generated in either or both of the boxes B and B or it maybe charged by gas generated inthe charger A, which is passed therefrom into either the box B, from whence it escapes into the chamber A through an opening, k, or into the box B or B whence it escapes into the induratin g-chamber A through the upper uncovered sides of boxes B B or, the indurating-chamber A may be charged by gas generated in either one or both the boxes B B at the same time it is receiving a charge from the carbonated water-charger A into the box B It will be understood that when the acid, soda, and water are introduced into the charger A they therein commingle and form a solution which is highly impregnated with carbonic-acid gas. This solution, while still in the charger, gives off a sufficient quantity of such gas to form in the upper portion of the charger a heavy pressure upon the solution; and thus, when the cooks c and c are opened, the solution thus impregnated is forced into the box B, from whence the gas escapes into the chamber A through opening k. From the box, this solution having exhausted its gas, may be drawn off through the cock 0 preparatory to another such charge.

In like manner charges of solution which form carbonic-acid gas made in boxes B and B? may be withdrawn, whether formed therein in the first instance, or injected therein from the carbonated-water charger A By this mode of operating the induratingchamber A, it will be observed that the solution is introduced into the chamber while impregnated with carbonic-acid gas. In other words, carbonated water is introduced into the indurating-chamber A, thus supplying the chamber with a moist gas, or gas and moisture commingled, which are absorbed in the'cement or other articles placed in the indurating-chamber A, the moisture, while being absorbed by the cement, acting as a vehicle to carry the gas with it into the cement, and while absorbed efi'eeting a chemical union of the gas and coment.

This process of operating or charging the chamber A or supplying it with carbonic acid, or this gas and vapor or moisture, is continued from one to two or three days, or longer, if necessary, the repetition of the charges, and the continuation of the process, dependingupon the degree of induration desired to be given to the blocks or articles placed for treatment in the chamber A.

both modes may be made available for supplying an additional powerful volume of moistened gas to the cement or material desired to be indurated, when it is desired to hasten the process of indurating; and further, that such moisture and gas may at option be applied at varying points of locality within the chamber A, alternately or simultaneously, in order to supply the gas to the cement or material to be indurated in the most available and efiicient manner.

In the construction of the indurating-ehamber A, as stated in the specification of my Letters Patent No. 109,669, dated November 29, 1870, no peculiar form or mode or kind of material is requisite, further than that the chamber be made gas and vapor holding, and convenient for receiving the blocks or other articles for treatment; and if the chamber is intended to be removable, so const ucted as to be easily put up or placed over, or over and around the block or other articles, and easily taken down and apart or removed.

When it is desired to operate the induratingchamber A with a more copious supply of moisture than is furnished by the above-described modes of charging this chamber with carbonic-acid gas and moisture in the treatment of material or articles placed therein to be indurated, I introduce through suitable openings, as indicated at 1, 2, and 4, made at varying points in the chamber, carbonated water, or the charge from the carbonated-water charger A, in the form of finely-divided particles, as fine spray or mist, directly into the chamber, instead of the boxes B B B, and directly to the material or articles placed therein for treatment or otherwise, as desired. In this case a nozzle, closed at its'end and suitably pierced with many fine holes, or a nozzle terminating in the shape of, or having fitted to the end of it, a rose pierced with fine holes, as shown in the drawing, is used in connection with the pipe d, in order that the carbonated water on being forced through these holes may take the form of fine spray, mist,

or vapor. When the openings 1, 2, and 4 are not used, they are closed gas-tight in any suitable manner. By this mode of charging or operating the chamber A with carbonated water-13. 0., carbonic acid and moisture-the charged water, whether applied directly or not to the material or articles placed therein for treatment, is diffused as vapor into all portions of the chamber A, and the material or articles placed therein to be indurated or 'converted intostone thus completely enveloped in an atmosphere of moist carbonic-acid gas, or the gas and moisture.

This latter mode of charging or operating the chamber A is used either in conjunction or not with the modes of charging this chamber first hereindescribed; and they may be used either alternately or simultaneously with them, as may be deemed desirable, for the speedy and efficient induration of the material or articles desired to be converted into stone.

By the term cement, as used in the foregoing portions of this specification, I mean to imply material or substances, such as quicklime, hydraulic lime, magnesia, or their hydrates, the hydraulic cements, and others, combined or not two or more with one another, with which carbonic acid and water or moisture may be made to chemically unite and form a salt as a carbonate, and whether these salts or solids be formed by a direct chemical combination of the carbonic acid and water or moisture with such material or substances, or whether by a decomposition and a recordposition.

The box B is supplied with a cock, 0, for drawing off a spent charge, the same as in box B, and a similar cock and for the same purpose will, in practice, be applied to box B Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The process of manufacturing artificial stone, whereby the hardening of blocks or other articles made of cement, or cement combined with other material or substances, is effected Within the indurating-chamber by means of moisture and carbonic-acid gas generated either within said chamber, or by means of moisture and said gas generated within said chamber in combination with moisture and said gas generated outside of said chamber, substantially as described.

2. The process of manufacturing artificial stone, whereby the hardening of blocks or other articles made of cement, or cement combined with other material or substances, is effected within the indurating-chamber by means of moisture and carbonic-acid gas generated at varying points of locality within said chamber, substantially as described.

JAMES L. ROWLAND.

In presence of- S. S. ROWLAND, CHAS. O. WERNS. 

